Ashley Smith was at work shortly after noon Wednesday when her cellphone started buzzing with news she has long waited to hear.

"I was like, 'What's going on?' " said Smith, media liaison for Pride Lafayette, which led the local effort against Indiana's gay marriage ban.

A federal judge had thrown out the ban, ruling it unconstitutional and determining that Indiana gay couples can begin marrying immediately.

But nothing changed Wednesday for same-sex couples in Tippecanoe or surrounding counties.

On advice from legal counsel, Tippecanoe County Clerk Christa Coffey did not issue marriage licenses Wednesday. That was the case in the 10-county Lafayette area, too. Most counties were waiting to receive direction from the state attorney general or the State Court Administration.

By 1:30 p.m., Tippecanoe clerk employees had fielded about a dozen calls from people asking about same-sex marriage.

Indiana residents must obtain a marriage license from the county in which they reside, Coffey said. Once the license is in hand, they may be married in any county they wish, but without the license from their home county, a couple cannot get married, Coffey said.

Tippecanoe County Attorney Doug Masson counseled Coffey to hold off on issuing licenses so he can review the court order, which included language that specifically indicated that the clerks in the counties named as defendants must begin to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

"I think it does impact the whole state," Masson said. "The broader question that's going to apply to Tippecanoe County is whether the law (banning same-sex marriage) is unconstitutional, and it probably is."

But better to wait a day or so as more angles, including the state's effort to appeal the decision, are covered.

Fountain County Clerk Patty Gritten initially said her office was willing to issue marriage licenses. She subsequently recanted, saying that the marriage license online application forms, which currently are for a male and a female, prevent her and other clerks from issuing the licenses to same-sex couples.

So there was caution, but elsewhere, elation.

"Tears of joy," Smith said about her reaction. "This is amazing. ... We're just so overjoyed."

The ban's end, she said, "shows us that every Hoosier is equal to every other Hoosier, that there are no second-class citizens," Smith said.

Smith said her group still has a mission of engaging with people unhappy with the ruling.

"It doesn't mean it's going to be OK overnight," Smith said. "There are still a lot of people unhappy about this, and we are going to have to be there to have these conversations with them."

Same-sex marriage has supporters and detractors in the community at large and the church community.

"I'm very glad to hear it — that it's overturned," said the Rev. Charlie Davis, pastor of West Lafayette's Unitarian Universalist Church, who has been performing same-sex ceremonies since 1992. "I hope it doesn't get appealed because it's a ruling that is based on equality for all."

That church welcomes same-sex couples and has for years, said Gale Charlotte, president of the church board.

"They've always done same-sex commitment ceremonies," she said, adding that such services do not give couples the same federal benefits that traditional marriages have.

"It's just not the same," Charlotte said.

Marriage means more, she said, adding that if she and her partner had a commitment ceremony, it would have felt as though they were going through the motions.

But now that it appears same-sex marriages will be legal in Indiana, will she marry her partner?

"Now that we can, I'm not sure," she said. "It's a big step. It's nice to have that option."

St. John's Episcopal Church in Lafayette is another venue for same-sex couples looking for a church wedding.

"The Episcopal Church nationally recognizes same-sex blessings," said the Rev. Bradley Pace, the church's rector.

"Same-sex blessings" is basically a simile for marriage, Pace admitted. From the church's perspective, there's a theological distinction between the two, he said. During his year and a half at St. John's, the church has not hosted a same-sex blessing, he said.